Jay aims to give Gayle the bird
BAGGIES HITMAN GUNNING FOR PAL
JAY RODRIGUEZ says he would love to give Dwight Gayle grief by leapfrogging him in the goalscoring charts.
The free-scoring West Brom duo are going for it hammer and tongs but Rodriguez gets a free hit against Sheffield Wednesday today.
Gayle’s tally of 13 puts him one ahead of his Baggies pal but the Newcastle loanee misses the game with a hamstring injury.
Rodriguez nabbed two on Boxing Day but admits he can’t wait for Gayle to be back in action.
He said: “It helps with the banter in the dressing room. Dwight always gives me a bit of grief, but that’s good.
“It is all healthy and that is the main thing. We are buzzing for each other when we score and you can see that on the pitch. There is a good atmosphere out there at the moment.
“Hopefully Dwight won’t be out for too long, we know how hard he will work to get back as soon as possible.
“We know how important he is for us and everyone will be behind him to get back.”
Rodriguez’s goals might be catching the eye but he has singled out former England man Gareth Barry for special praise.
The former Everton and Manchester City midfielder is 38 in a few weeks but he is proving invaluable to
West Brom’s bid for an instant return to the top flight.
Rodriguez added:
“Gazza is someone you look up to as a player.
“You watch him in training and just bounce off little ideas he has. He’s probably the cleverest player I’ve played with. “He’s someone we all appreciate massively. He is unreal and it’s a pleasure to play with him.”
Barry’s influence helped Albion extend their unbeaten run to eight games with a 2-0 Boxing Day win over Wigan. Rodriguez said: “We’re not naive enough to think automatic promotion is easy. It’s a tough league. “Wednesday are a great side and we will continue to work hard and put things in place.
“Every team in this league is dangerous and we don’t underestimate anyone.”